The Freedom of Science Part 18

"The sciences and their true representatives," so states the renowned _Madler_ of Dorpat, "do not deserve the reproaches and imputations heaped upon them from a certain side, that they would estrange man from G.o.d, even turn him into an atheist ... we hope to show of astronomy especially that just the contrary is taking place" (Reden und Abhandlungen uber Gegenstande der Himmelskunde, 1870, 326).

The greatest astronomer of the nineteenth century, and one of the greatest discoverers of all ages, was undoubtedly _William Herschel_ (died 1822).

His son _John Herschel_ (died 1871) became his "worthy successor, almost his peer, who won a fame nearly equal to that of the inherited name" (_R.

Wolf_, Geschichte der Astronomie, 1877, 505). While not hostile to religion, the father had been so engrossed in his restless research, that religion received little attention, but religious thought and sentiment played a prominent part in the son. Time and again he opposed with zeal the materialistic-atheistic explanation of the universe. "Nothing is more unfounded than the objection made by some well-meaning but undiscerning persons, that the study of natural science induces a doubt of religion and of the immortality of the soul. Be a.s.sured that its logical effect upon any well-ordered mind must be just the opposite" (Preliminary Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy, 1830, 7).

It was _Leverrier_ (died 1877), Director of the Paris Observatory, who by calculations ascertained the existence and exact position of the remotest planet Neptune even before it was discovered. When eventually _Galle_ of Berlin really found the planet in the position indicated, _Leverrier's_ name became famous. But greater still were the achievements of this indefatigable investigator in respect to the known planets. When he presented to the French Academy the final part of his great work, the calculations of Jupiter and Saturnus, he said: "During our long labours, which it took us thirty-five years to complete, we needed the support obtained by the contemplation of one of the grandest works of creation, and by the thought that it strengthened in us the imperishable truths of a spiritualistic (_i.e._, non-materialistic) philosophy." He was an orthodox Catholic, known as a Clerical. A newspaper complained of him that "Under the empire he was a clerical Senator, concerned with the interests of the altar no less than with those of the throne" (_Kneller_, Das Christenthum und die Vertreter der neueren Naturwissenschaft, 1904, 96. In the following pages we have made frequent use of the material gathered in this sterling work. See also _James J. Walsh_, Makers of Modern Medicine (1907); and the same author's Catholic Churchmen in Science, I (1909), II (1910)).

One year after the death of _Leverrier_ another scientist of the first rank died. It was _A. Secchi_ (died 1878). Member of nearly all the scientific academies of the world, he was not only a faithful Christian, but also a priest: for forty-five years, and until his death, he wore the garb of the Society of Jesus. As an astronomer he has been named, not without good cause, the father of astrophysics: he ascertained the chemical composition of about 4,000 stars and cla.s.sified them into what is known as _Secchi's_ four types of stars. As a physicist he wrote an important work on The Unity of Natural Forces. He was also an eminent meteorologist.

At the second International Exposition at Paris his meteorograph was quite a feature. The _Kolnische Zeitung_ wrote, on March 2, 1878: "Visitors of the Italian Exhibition, at the second World's Fair in Paris, could see the marvellous instrument which does the work of ten observers and surpa.s.ses them in accuracy. At the same time they could obtain all needed information about details and scope of the meteorograph from the exhibitor himself; for _Secchi_ was there daily, devoting several hours to answering questions in any of the civilized languages of Europe. It is peculiarly interesting to observe the silent movement of the hands working day and night like registrars of the natural forces, and recording for every quarter of an hour with the utmost accuracy all changes in temperature, in humidity, every variance of the wind, any movement of the mercury in the barometer. Even the force of the wind and the time of rain is registered by this wonderful instrument." The inventor, out of 40,000 art exhibitors, was awarded the great golden medal. He also received the insignia of an officer of the French Legion of Honor, while the Emperor of Brazil appointed him an officer of the "Golden Rose."

The French scientist _Moigno_ writes of _Secchi_: "_Secchi_ was very pious, and as a worker he knew no limits. He was ever ready to evolve new scientific plans, to enter into new and long campaigns of observation. The mere list of his 800 works reveals him as one of the most intrepid workers of our century. And let this be considered: every one of these writings, no matter how brief, was the result of subtle and difficult researches and observations. And after devoting the day to arduous writing, he pa.s.sed the night searching the skies" (_Pohle_, P. Angelo Secchi, 1904, 191).

In the nineteenth century, too, astronomy has not failed in its mission of leading to G.o.d. A long list could be named of believing astronomers of great achievements. For instance, the Roman astronomer _Respighi_ (died 1889), a resolute Catholic. And _Lamont_, Director of the Observatory of Munich, whose Catholic orthodoxy was generally known. _Heis_ (died 1877) likewise was a zealous Catholic: when he had finished his map of the sky, after 27 years of hard work, he sent one of the first copies to _Pius IX._ The astronomers _Bessel_ and _Olbers_ speak in their letters of G.o.d, of the hereafter and Providence, in a way that has nothing in common with materialism.

_Secchi_ was not the only priest and monk among the astronomers of the nineteenth century. The very first day of the century was made notable by the astronomical achievement of a monk. _Joseph Piazzi_, a member of the Theatine order (died 1826), discovered on that day the first asteroid, Ceres. The great mathematician _Gauss_ named his first born son Joseph, in _Piazzi's_ honor.

It is, indeed, a remarkable fact, testifying strongly against the incompatibility of natural science and faith, that just the Catholic clergy, the prominent representatives of religion and faith, have contributed a large contingent to the number of natural scientists. _Poggendorf's_ Biographical Dictionary of the Exact Sciences contains, down to 1863, according to preface and recapitulation, the names and biographical sketches of 8,847 natural scientists. Of these, 862 are Catholic priests, amounting to 9.8 per cent. To appreciate these 10 per cent it must be taken into account that most of them were not connected with natural science by their position, but only through their personal interest, and most of them were engaged in other duties.

Mathematics, although not natural science proper, is inseparably connected with it. For this reason we may extend our consideration to mathematicians. We only point to the three greatest, _Euler_, _Gauss_, and _Cauchy_, and all three were religious men. _Euler_ (died 1783 at Petersburg) has no peer in the recent history of science in prolific activity: ten times he was awarded the prize by the Paris Academy of Sciences. _Cantor_ says of him: "Like most great mathematicians, _Euler_ was profoundly religious, though without bigotry. He personally conducted every evening the private devotions at his home, and one of the few polemical books he wrote was a defence of revelation against the objections of free-thinkers." Its publication at Berlin in 1747, in close proximity of the court of _Frederick the Great_, presupposed a certain moral courage. In this book he refers to the difficulties found in all sciences, even in geometry, adding: "By what right then can the free-thinkers demand of us to reject at once Holy Writ in its entirety, because of some difficulties which frequently are not even so important as those complained of in geometry?" _Gauss_ (died 1855) is perhaps the greatest mathematician of all times. It sounds incredible, yet it is well attested, that as a child of three years, when in the workshop of his father, a plain mechanic, he was able to correct the father if he made a mistake in figuring out the wages paid to his journeymen. His biographer, _Waltershausen_, says of him: "The conviction of a personal existence after death, the firm belief in an ultimate Ruler of things, in an eternal, just, all-wise and all-powerful G.o.d, formed the foundation of his religious life, which, with his unsurpa.s.sed scientific researches, resolved itself into a perfect harmony." _Cauchy_ (died 1857) was a man of most extraordinary genius, whose creative genius knew how to discover new paths everywhere, and almost at every weekly meeting of the Paris Academy _Cauchy_ had something new to offer. In addition he was a dutiful Catholic, and a member of St. Vincent's Society. When, shortly before the February revolution, an onslaught upon the Jesuit schools was made, he defended them in two pamphlets.

One of them contains the following confession of faith: "I am a Christian, that is, I believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ, with _Tycho __ Brahe_, _Copernicus_, _Descartes_, _Newton_, _Fermat_, _Leibnitz_, _Pascal_, _Grimaldi_, _Euler_, _Guldin_, _Boscovich_, _Gerdil_; with all great astronomers, all great physicists, all great mathematicians of past centuries. I am also a Catholic, with the majority of them, and if asked for my reasons, I would enumerate them readily. By them it would be made clear that my conviction is not the result of inherited prejudices, but of profound inquiry. I am a sincere Catholic, as _Corneille_, _Racine_, _La Bruyere_, _Bossuet_, _Bourdaloue_, _Fenelon_ were, and such as were and still are a large portion of the most eminent men of our times, among them those who have achieved most in the exact sciences, in philosophy and literature, and who have most prominently adorned our Academy" (_Valson_, Vie de Cauchy, I, 173). When near death, and told that the priest would bring the Holy Sacrament, he ordered the finest flowers of his garden used in the reception of the Lord.

We now come to the physicists. To begin with the most prominent representatives of the science of optics, which was developed especially during the first half of the century, there are to be named chiefly _Fresnel_, _Frauenhofer_, _Fizeau_, _Foucault_. _A. Fresnel_ (died 1827), the originator of the modern theory of light, clung to his conviction of the spirituality and immortality of the soul. _Frauenhofer_ (died 1826) showed himself to be a man of refinement and of kindness, which only occasionally was disturbed by natural irritability: he was much devoted to his religion, so that even his guests while at his house had to observe the abstinence prescribed by the Church; this was quite significant, considering the indifference of his times in this respect. _Fizeau_ (died 1896), too, was a staunch Catholic, who fearlessly testified to his belief, even before the Paris Academy. Though his work was of the first rank, France's chief marks of honour pa.s.sed him by, and little notice was even given to his death. A significant fact. "These circ.u.mstances," so writes _Kneller_, "induced us to inquire for particulars; and through the services of friends we obtained information in Paris from most reliable source that _Fizeau_ was a faithful Christian, who fulfilled his religious duties. For this very reason his name had been stricken, at the Centenary of the Academy, from the list of candidates for the cross of the legion of honor, notwithstanding the fact that, on the strength of his scientific achievement, he should long have been Commander and even Grand Officer of this order." _Cornu_ was the only one to protest against this slight.

_Foucault_ (died 1868) had, in the time of his restless scientific work, taken an unsympathetic att.i.tude towards the Catholic religion. In his last illness he returned, step by step, to his Creator and Redeemer, in whom he found his comfort, and he breathed his last in peace with G.o.d and the Church.

_Foucault's_ great countryman, _Ampere_ (died 1836), the celebrated investigator in the fields of electricity, was also estranged from the Christian religion, but, after pa.s.sing through torturing doubts, he regained undisturbed possession of his Catholic faith, and was a pious Christian at the time of his brilliant discoveries. He had frequent intercourse with _A. F. Ozanam_, and the discussion almost without exception turned to G.o.d. Then _Ampere_ would cover his forehead with his hands, exclaiming: "How great G.o.d is! Ozanam! how great G.o.d is, and our knowledge is as nothing." "This venerable head," _Ozanam_ relates of his friend, "covered with honours and full of knowledge, bowed down before the mysteries of the faith; he knelt at the same altars where before him _Descartes_ and _Pascal_ worshipped humbly, beside the poor widow and the small child, who perhaps were less humble than he" (_A. F. Ozanam_, Oeuvres Completes, X, 37, and VIII, 89). As he was dying, and _M.

Deschamps_, director of the college of Ma.r.s.eille, began to read aloud some pa.s.sages from the "Imitation of Christ," the dying man remarked that he knew the book by heart.

Another great discoverer in the domain of electricity, who had preceded _Ampere_, was _Volta_ (died 1827). Like his great fellow countryman, _Galvani_ (died 1798), who did not disdain to be a member of the third order of St. Francis, _Volta_ was a staunch Catholic; every day he recited the rosary.

At Como, his home, he was daily seen to go to holy Ma.s.s and, on holidays, to the Sacraments. Those who pa.s.sed his house on Sat.u.r.days saw a small lamp burning before the picture of the Blessed Virgin Mary over his door.

If the servant forgot to light the lamp, _Volta_ did it himself. On Feast days, when visiting the parish church, the great electrician could be seen among the children, explaining the catechism to them.

A friend of _Volta_, the Canon _Giacomo Ciceri_, once was endeavoring to convert a dying man, who, however, refused to hear him, on the ground that whereas religion might be good for the common people, scientists did not need it, and he reckoned himself among them. _Ciceri_ thereupon reminded him of _Volta_. This made an impression upon the dying man, who declared that if _Volta_ be seriously religious, and not only as a matter of convention, he would consent to receive the Sacraments. The Canon then requested _Volta_ to write a few lines. _Volta_ replied as follows: "I do not understand how anybody can doubt my sincerity and constancy in the religion which I profess, and which is that of Catholic, Apostolic, Roman Church, wherein I was born and raised, and which I have professed all my life, inwardly and outwardly.... Should any misdemeanor on my part have prompted any one to suspect me of unbelief, then I will declare, for the purpose of making reparation ... that I always have believed this Holy Catholic religion to be the only true and infallible one, and that I still think so, and I thank our dear Lord incessantly for having given me this belief, in which to live and to die is my resolution, in the firm hope of gaining the eternal life. It is true, I acknowledge this belief to be a gift of G.o.d, a supernatural belief; yet, I have not neglected human means to fortify myself in this belief, and to drive away all doubts that may arise to tempt me. For this reason, I have studied the faith diligently in its foundations, by reading apologetic and controversial writings, weighing the reasons for and against; a way, which supplies the strongest proof, and makes it most credible for the human reason to such a degree, that any n.o.ble mind, not perverted by sins and pa.s.sions, cannot help embracing and loving it. I wish this profession, for which I was asked and which I willingly make, written and signed by my own hand, to be shown at will to any one, because I am not ashamed of the Gospel. May my writing bear good fruit.

_Alexander Volta._

MILAN, January 6th, 1815.

(_C. Grandi_, Alessandro Volta, 1899, 575.)"

He who, for the first time, is made aware of the religious confession of the greatest natural scientists may perhaps be astonished. Hitherto, he had heard little of the Christian mind of these men, but a great deal about their alleged indifference for religion, and about their materialism and atheism. Now, suddenly, he sees a large number of them to be the enemies of atheism, many, indeed, to be zealous Christians.

This is due to the biographers: they dwell largely on the scientific achievement of a man, likewise on his human qualities, but his religion is often not mentioned at all. When, in 1888, a monument was erected to _Ampere_ in his native city, Lyons, not a word in the speeches referred to the fact that he was a faithful Catholic. Nay, more; on one of the books seen on his monument is chiselled in bold letters the word "Encyclopedie."

Those unaware of the facts would infer that _Ampere_ had been one of the Encyclopaedists. His actual relation to this infamous work was that he had read it in his youth, but abhorred it in his later age.

The English physicist, _Faraday_ (died 1867), according to _Tyndall_ and _Du Bois-Reymond_ the greatest experimentist of all times, was, like _Volta_ and _Ampere_, of religious mind.

In a letter to a lady he wrote: "I belong to a small and despised Christian sect, known by the name of Sandemanians. Our hope is based upon the belief which is in Christ." In 1847, he concluded his lectures at the Royal Inst.i.tution with the following words: "In teaching us those things, our science should prompt us to think of Him whose works they are." At a later lecture, he declared: "I have never encountered anything to cause a contradiction between things within the scope of man, and the higher things, relating to his future and unconceivable to (unaided) human mind" (_Jones_, The Life and Letters of Faraday).

Of the same bent of mind was _Faraday's_ fellow countryman, _Maxwell_ (died 1879), known to every one who has studied the development of the theories of electricity. This ingenious theoretician of electrics, professor of experimental physics at Cambridge, was deeply religious.

Every evening he led in the family prayer; he regularly attended divine service, and partook of the monthly communion of his denomination. Those more intimately acquainted with _Maxwell_ agree, that he was one of the worthiest men they ever met.

Nothing could better ill.u.s.trate his religious sentiment than the splendid prayer found among his posthumous papers: "Almighty G.o.d, Thou who hast created man after Thy image and hast given him a living soul, that he should search Thee and rule over Thy creatures, teach us to study the works by Thy hands that we may subject the earth for our use, and strengthen our reason for Thy service, and let us receive Thy holy word thus, that we may believe in Him whom Thou hast sent us to give us the knowledge of salvation and the forgiving of our sins, all of which we pray for in the name of the same Jesus Christ, our Lord"

(_Campbell-Garnett_, The Life of J. C. Maxwell).

_Maxwell's_ devout mind is especially significant here, because, like _Ampere_ and _Volta_, he occupied himself much with philosophical and theological questions. Every Sunday upon return from church he is said to have buried himself in his theological books.

Many others might be mentioned of English physicists of the past century, who combined religious belief with great knowledge. The peculiar trait of the English character to respect and preserve with piety the inherited inst.i.tutions of the past, as against radicalism and the craze for innovation, manifests itself also in the absence of the immature and frivolous juggling with the great truths of the Christian past, not infrequently met with elsewhere. Let us mention but one more of England's great men who have died in recent years. In December, 1907, the papers reported the death of _William Thomson_, latterly better known as _Lord Kelvin_. He lived to the age of 83 years, up to his death incessantly busy with scientific work. As early as 1855, _Helmholtz_ described him as "one of the foremost mathematical physicists of Europe.(7)" The Berlin Academy of Science expressed high praise and admiration in its address felicitating _Thomson_ on his Golden Jubilee. Undoubtedly, he merited this admiration also by stoutly defending from the viewpoint of science the necessity of a Divine Creator.

"We do not know," he wrote, "at what moment a creation of matter or of energy fixed a beginning beyond which no speculation based on mechanical laws is able to lead us. In exact mechanics, if we were ever inclined to forget this barrier, we necessarily would be reminded of it by the consideration that reasoning, resting exclusively upon the law of mechanics, points to a time when the earth must have been uninhabited, and it also teaches us that our own bodies, like those of all living plants and animals, and fossils, are organized forms of matter for which science can give no other explanation than the will of a Creator, a truth, in support of which geological history offers rich evidence" (On Mechanical Antecedent of Motion, Heat and Light, 1884). "The only contribution of dynamics to theoretical biology consists in the absolute negation of an automatic beginning and automatic continuance of life" (Addresses and Speeches).

On May 1, 1902, the Rev. Prof. _G. Henslow_, according to the _London Times_, spoke at University College, before a big audience with the President of the University as chairman, on the subject "The Rationalism of To-day, an Examination of Darwinism." On conclusion of the speech the venerable octogenarian, _Lord Kelvin_, arose and proposed a resolution of thanks to the speaker.

While fully subscribing to the fundamental ideas of Prof.

_Henslow's_ lecture, _Lord Kelvin_ said, he could not a.s.sent to the proposition that natural science neither affirms nor denies the origin of life by a creative force. He stated that natural science _does_, positively, a.s.sert a creative force. Science forces every one to recognize a miracle within himself. That we are living, and moving, and existing, is not due to dead matter, but to a creating and directing force, and science forces us to accept this a.s.sumption as a tenet of faith. _Lord Kelvin_ subsequently amplified these remarks in an article that appeared in the _Nineteenth Century_, of June, 1903. It concludes with the admonition, not to be afraid to think independently. "If you reason sharply, you will be forced by science to believe in G.o.d, who is the basis of all religion. You will find science to be, not an opponent of religion, but a support" (_Times_, May 8 and 15, 1903).

Such were the views of those to whom, in the first place, the establishment of natural science and its progress are due. It is not science and strong reasoning that lead away from G.o.d, but the lack of true science. _Bacon_ said: _Leviores gustus in philosophia movere forta.s.se animum ad atheismum, sed pleniores haustus ad Deum reducere_. Another thing must be observed. Among those earnest men, earnest in the investigation of nature, and earnest in the consideration of questions of a supernatural life, there are many who made the religious question the subject of mature study, and who were well acquainted with the objections against religion and Christianity. But they cling to their religious persuasion only the more firmly. We may be reminded of men like _Volta_, _Cauchy_, _Ampere_, and _Maxwell_.

To speak of authorities, what comparison is there between these great scientists and discoverers, and those who are satisfied with the general a.s.surance that "any one who has grasped the elements of natural sciences must become a monist," and "that the supernatural exists only in the brain of the visionary and ignorant," that, "in the same measure in which the victorious progress of modern knowledge of nature surpa.s.ses the scientific achievements of former centuries, the untenableness of all mystical views of life that tend to harness the reason in the yoke of so-called revelation has been made clear" (_Haeckel_), and who in such a.s.surance find perfect intellectual gratification. They recall an incident at the Congress of English natural scientists, held at Belfast in 1874, when _Tyndall_ delivered from the platform a materialistic lecture, and among the audience sat _Maxwell_, his superior in scientific research, who put down the lecture in doggerel rhyme, in a humorous vein, of course, but not without deserved sarcasm.

We proceed on our way, trying to make haste, and omitting many names that might be mentioned, limiting ourselves to the most prominent ones.

Among the chemists we name _Lavoisier_. A martyr to his science, he died under the guillotine of the Revolution in 1794; he had remained true to his Christian faith. The Swede, _J. Berzelius_ (died 1848), openly professed his belief in G.o.d. _Thenard_ (died 1859), the discoverer of boron, of a blue dye named after him, and of many other chemicals, was a staunch Catholic. The pastor of St. Sulpice could testify at his funeral as follows: "He attended church every Sunday, eyes and heart fixed on his prayer-book, and on solemn Feast days he received Holy Communion.... With _Baron Thenard_ one of the greatest benefactors of my poor people is gone"

(_Kneller_).

_Dumas_ (died 1884), who is esteemed by his pupil _Pasteur_ as the peer of _Lavoisier_, was also a practical Catholic, as was his compatriot _Chevreul_ (died 1889). This great man had the rare good fortune to be present at his own centenary in 1886. At this great celebration he received an address by the Berlin Academy, stating that his name had a prominent place on the list of the great scientists who had carried the scientific repute of France to all quarters of the globe. When, in view of the mundane character of the celebration, the liberal press endeavoured to rank him among the representatives of unbelieving science, and this question being discussed in public, _Chevreul_ felt himself constrained to proclaim his religious persuasion openly in a letter to _Count de Montravel_, in which he said: "I am simply a scientist, but those who know me, know also that I was born a Catholic, that I lead a Catholic life, and that I want to die a Catholic" (Civilta Cattolica, 1891, 292).

Two Germans may conclude the list of chemists, _Schoenbein_ (died 1868) and _J. Liebig_ (died 1873).

In his diary, "Menschen und Dinge," 1885 (page 29), _Schoenbein_ writes: "There are still people who fancy in their limited mind that, the deeper the human intellect penetrates the secrets of nature, the more extensive its knowledge, the wider its conception of the exterior world, the more it must forget the cause of all things. Many have gone even so far as to a.s.sert that natural science must lead to the denial of G.o.d. This view is without all foundation. He, who contemplates with open eyes, daily and hourly, the doings and workings of nature, will not only believe, but will actually perceive, and be firmly convinced, that there is not the smallest place in s.p.a.ce where the divine does not reveal itself in the most magnificent and admirable way." And in a similar strain _Liebig_ writes: "Indeed, the greatness and infinite wisdom of the Creator of the world can be realized only by him who endeavours to understand His ideas as laid down in that immense book,-nature, in comparison to which everything that men otherwise know and tell of Him, appears like empty talk" (Die Chemie in ihrer Anwendung).

Now let us turn to the geographers. We merely mention _Ritter_ (died 1859), the man who raised geography to the dignity of a science; he was a faithful Protestant, while bia.s.sed against the Catholic Church. In spite of this, a Catholic historian, _J. Janssen_, has sketched his life, in which we read: "Firm in his belief in the living G.o.d, and in the Incarnate Son of G.o.d, His Redeemer, he furnishes a clear and convincing proof that this faith, far from being a contradiction to natural science ... alone enables man to acquire an extensive and deep knowledge of nature." We give only pa.s.sing notice to the founder of scientific crystallography, _R.

Hauy_ (died 1822), who was a dutiful Catholic priest. The geologists now will get a hearing.